I have been cooking a lot of Indian inspired recipes recently, including thick daals and chickpea currys. Whilst these are no doubt hearty and enjoyable dishes, I sometimes feel that they can be missing an extra element.

I'm currently living on a very small income, so meat is pretty much our of the question. Blocks of paneer can also be around £2-£3 from the supermarket. However, this recipe for paneer means that I can add some protein to my meal, all for the price of a pint of milk and some lemon juice!

To make a small block (feeds 1)

1pint of Whole Milk

2 tsp Lemon Juice

Method

1. Bring the milk slowly to the boil in a large saucepan

2. As the milk starts to boil, add the lemon juice and stir. You should start to see the curds (opaque masses) separate from the whey (white liquid.) Take the saucepan off the heat.

3. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and drain away the whey, until you are left with the curds.

4. Wrap tightly in the cloth and hang the curds from the tap in a small ball over the sink for 20 minutes, this will drain away more of the whey.

5. Take down the curds wrapped cheesecloth and fill a large saucepan with water and press the ball of curds under this for an hour or more (still in the cheesecloth and on a plate to catch excess liquid.)

6. The paneer is now ready to use in any way you desire! It will keep for several days immersed in water in the fridge. I cut mine into cubes and fried them until golden in a little vegetable oil.